To describe someone who shares something with you—like a homeland, a secret, or a path—Turkish uses the suffix -DAş. Attached to a noun, it creates a new noun meaning "fellow," "co-," or "-mate".
The suffix follows consonant mutation, becoming -taş or -teş after unvoiced consonants (like t or ş). While it is subject to two-way vowel harmony, many common words (and all the examples in this lesson) take the -daş or -taş forms regardless of the root's vowels.
yurt(homeland) +taş=yurttaş(compatriot / fellow citizen)yol(path) +daş=yoldaş(comrade / companion)sır(secret) +daş=sırdaş(confidant)
| Every citizen has to support the state. | Her yurttaş devleti desteklemek zorunda. |
| He is my best comrade. | O benim en iyi yoldaşım. |
| That lonely cat is my only confidant. | O yalnız kedi benim tek sırdaşım. |
Shared Identities and Fates
You will often see this suffix used to form words about people who share a common identity or life experience:
ad(name) +daş=adaş(namesake) — note that one "d" is droppedkader(fate) +daş=kaderdaş(companion in fate / fellow sufferer)
| We are namesakes with the new director. | Yeni müdür ile adaşız. |
| The sick man and I are companions in fate. | Hasta adamla kaderdaşız. |
Communities, Eras, and Teams
The -DAş suffix can also turn abstract concepts into tangible associations:
çağ(era) +daş=çağdaş(contemporary / modern)pay(share) +daş=paydaş(stakeholder)takım(team) +daş=takımdaş(teammate)yaş(age) +taş=yaştaş(peer / of the same age)
| I wonder where the contemporary art museum is? | Çağdaş sanat müzesi nerede acaba? |
| All stakeholders in the project attended the meeting. | Projedeki bütün paydaşlar toplantıya katıldı. |
| A selfish teammate prevents success. | Bencil bir takımdaş başarıyı engeller. |
| My son and your daughter are of the same age. | Benim oğlumla senin kızın yaştaş. |
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